Brought my skateboard along with me on a longer trip through Austria. So far I’ve checked off a few spots, from tiny local parks to famous city spots. The ongoing heatwave is making this whole thing a little tricky. Skating is only possible in the early morning. Otherwise you completely melt in the sun.
Newish skatepark in Ybbsitz
Really small, but great for a small town. Didn’t look like it’s getting a lot of use recently. Some of the steel already looks rusty, and the parking block is so not broken in, waxed, or skateable yet. Still, if we’d had this when we were teenagers growing up in this area, we’d have completely flipped out.
Linz Donaulände
Newly renovated spot. It has some great new features, celebrating the “Stahlstadt” theme. I was skeptical of the steel curb at first, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Fast slides and grinds. It sits on a small pyramid, so you slide uphill a little bit. Super fun feature. Also a first for me: a ride-on grind over a steel rainbow feature. Gnarly stuff!
Wien St. Marx
I set out to find the DIY in St. Marx, only to find out it was scrapped and is no more. Major bummer.
Wien Donauinsel
I’ve been there before, but this time I checked off the corner curb. Landed a slappy crook around the corner. The dismount is nothing to write home about, but hey, I got off it, rolled away, and had fun doing it. That’s all that counts.
Wien Margaretengürtel
On my way home I briefly stopped at the Margaretengürtel pool. I was exhausted from the day and didn’t have pads, so I did not drop in. Even carving around seemed out of reach. Maybe next time. I thought it was smaller and narrower, but it actually looked OK. Totally doable on a good day.
Innsbruck Landhausplatz
This one has been on my list! It’s a public square with built-in bank features. SO FUN! Banks in all sizes, wide space, real flowy. You’ll always find something new to hit. Amazing that the city built this square and encouraged skateboarding. I’m a big fan of it. I believe skateboarding adds something good to city life. It makes the urban experience more fun for both active skaters and passersby watching the scene. I’d be interested in how it’s perceived by pedestrians. The square looks large enough to reduce the chance of close calls from boards gone rogue, or from a skater coming off a bank towards a pedestrian.
The one thing I definitely had to get used to: the tactile guidance strips for visually impaired pedestrians. They caught me off guard at first and almost caused an embarrassing slam!